3 ms·

How come in all the companies I worked for (in NY, not SV) I never ever was told what percentage of equity I had, and was just given a magic number. 25K units.

How come in all the companies I worked for (in NY, not SV) I never ever was told what percentage of equity I had, and was just given a magic number. 25K units. 10K units. 100K units. Common shares. 4 year vest. I've had fairly senior roles so reading all the articles about how people can get screwed reminds me that I'm getting screwed, in a completely different way though and probably a lot more simple a way.

ska 6y ago
You should always ask, and they should always tell you. Depending on the position, you may also want a look at the cap table but more often just the summary or even current %age. Part of the reason people don't do this by default is that it's dynamic. I can promise you 100k shares today and that's what happens 3 mo from now when you start, but hiring anyone else (or you for that matter) will change the %age number. By the way, especially early on a primary reason you should ask isn't to value the equity but to get a better idea of how the offer values you....
- aardvark291 6y ago
  > You should always ask, and they should always tell you. I'm currently on the job search. One of my offers was quite forthright and included the total number of outstanding shares and the fraction I would receive. But this seems very unusual. The others all treated this information as proprietary/confidential. They either provide an opaque "valuation" of the equity, or give the current strike price ("fair market value" according to 409a) and preferred price (implied valuation after most recent funding round), and strongly imply that the spread here implies that the options are already significantly in-the-money. Sometimes they just give the number of of options and their strike price.
  - ska 6y ago
    I've only once had someone offer this without asking, but always been given it when requested, in some useful form. YMMV of course, but feeling the need to be coy about the cap table with potential hires (within reason, and assuming relatively young startup) would be a bit of a red flag for me.

ska 6y ago

You should always ask, and they should always tell you. Depending on the position, you may also want a look at the cap table but more often just the summary or even current %age. Part of the reason people don't do this by default is that it's dynamic. I can promise you 100k shares today and that's what happens 3 mo from now when you start, but hiring anyone else (or you for that matter) will change the %age number. By the way, especially early on a primary reason you should ask isn't to value the equity but to get a better idea of how the offer values you....

aardvark291 6y ago
> You should always ask, and they should always tell you. I'm currently on the job search. One of my offers was quite forthright and included the total number of outstanding shares and the fraction I would receive. But this seems very unusual. The others all treated this information as proprietary/confidential. They either provide an opaque "valuation" of the equity, or give the current strike price ("fair market value" according to 409a) and preferred price (implied valuation after most recent funding round), and strongly imply that the spread here implies that the options are already significantly in-the-money. Sometimes they just give the number of of options and their strike price.
- ska 6y ago
  I've only once had someone offer this without asking, but always been given it when requested, in some useful form. YMMV of course, but feeling the need to be coy about the cap table with potential hires (within reason, and assuming relatively young startup) would be a bit of a red flag for me.